Loom



April 20, 1937. w. F. ROSSITER LOOM Filed April 29, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheetl Y RT/ WE 05 M TS m T W M l E April 20, 1937. w. F. ROSSITER LOOM FiledApril 29, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, WAYNE F ROSS/TEE.

' I H) I I 30 invention herein described, asvarious forms may There isvery little o $10058 among the three 30 Patented Apr. 20, 1937 v2,077,532

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOOM Wayne F. Rossiter, San Francisco,Calif., assignor to Independent Press Room Inc., San Francisco, Calif.,a corporation of California Application April 29,1935, Serial No. 18,710

2 Claims. (Cl. 139-55) My invention relates to looms, and more parferred embodiment of the loom of my invention, ticularly,.to a loomformed from sheet material strung up and having thereon a fabric partlyand adapted for the production of woven fabric woven.

suitable for small bags, purses, ties and like arti- Figures 2, 3 and 4are various modifications 5 cles, where a woven fabric of relativelysmall showing how the warp threads may be attached 5 size is desired.adjacent the ends of the loom frame.

Among the objects of my invention are: To Figure 5 is a side viewshowing how the foldprovide a loom frame, shuttle and harness of ingharness may be positioned fiat and parallel sheet material; to providesuch a loom wherein to the frame.

all the above named parts may be die-cut from Figures Band 7 show thetwo motions used 10 sheet material by machine; to provide a cardto forma shed in weaving. board loom; to provide a loom having a harness Figure8 is a partial view in plan of a loom formed from a single piece ofsheet material opframe having a printed figure thereon. erable by handto form ashecl; to provide a loom Referring directly to Figure 1, a loomframe which can be produced in quantity on modern i is provided,preferably of cardboard of such a 15 die-cutting machines; to provide aloom having consistency that it will bend to some extent witha harnessformed of sheet material which will out breaking the fibers of theboard. It is quite lie flat against the loom frame for shipment andobvious that this frame may be of other sheet thereafter can be bentinto shape for use in formmaterial, for example, such as bakelite,clothing a shed; to provide a cardboard loom having inserted bakelite,fibreboard, or even metal. Opprinted thereon a pattern; and to provide aposite ends of the loom frame are preferably cheap loom which can bemanufactured by maprovided with notches 2 whereby warp threads chineryin. large quantities, the loom comprising 4 may be strung across theframe. the combination of a frame, harness, and shuttle, As shown inFigures 3 and a, I may prefer, in l all cut from the same sheetmaterial. certain cases, to use other means to space the 25 'Otherobjects of my invention will be apparent warp threads, and in Figure '3I have shown or will be specifically pointed out in the descripv-shapedcuts 5 into which the warp thread tion forming a part of thisspecification, but I may be insert and in Figure 4 I v Shown do notlimit myself to the embodiment of the straight cuts E into the edge ofthe loom frame.

be adopted within the scope of the claims, methods and I may preferdifferent means to With the advent of a fashion calling forhomeaccommodate different sizes of warp material. spun bags and, thelike, small portable looms While stringing the warp threads 4 on the areto be desired, particularly when such looms loom frame, they should bepassed through apercan be imprinted with the various designs necesturesl in the heddle 8. This harness is prefer- 5 sary in the weaving of suchhomespun articles. ably formed from a single sheet of the same ma.- Itis also particularly advantageous that such terial as the loom frame 5and is provided on a-loom becompact, be easily shipped and in oppositeends with warp extensions 9, opposite order to make the loom attractivefor sale, and extensions being offset so that alternate warp 40 cheap inconstruction. The loom of my present threads may be passed through theapertures 40 invention satisfies all requirements for such purl in theextensions on one end of the heddle,

, poses and is so designed that it may be produced the remaining threadspassing through the ex- I by modern die-cutting machinery, of strongrigid tension on the other end of the harness. The material, preferablycardboard, in large quantiharness, to facilitate stringing andoperation,is

ties. Quantity production makes for cheapness scored to provide twoadjacent hinges l0 and 45 in manufacture. In the followingspecification, ll so that the harness may be folded upon itself,

/ the word cardboard will. be deemed to include thus placing theextensions 9 closely adjacent. all similar sheet material capable ofbeing die- In this position, due to the fact that hinges I 0 cut and itisalso deemed that any sheet material, and II are both an equal distanceoffset from even metal, will be full equivalents with the scope themid-line of harness I II, no matter which hinge 50 of the appendedclaims. is uppermost, one set of extensions 9 will be The broad aspectsof my invention as applied raised and the other set depressed. to thestructure shown in the drawings may be i If, however, both hinges arepartly flexed in more readily understood by reference to them in orderto place the apertures I in line and the flat 5 which Figure 1 is aperspective View of a presurface I: between the hinges in a horizontalplane, the harness will be in a position most advantageous for stringingand the alternate passage of the warp threads through the apertures Iwill make the harness operative to form a shed between the warp threadswhen fully flexed in either direction.

After the harness has been mounted upon the warp threads 4, the harnesswill also open to lie flat with the frame as shown in Figure 5 and thustake up little space when not in use. The weft thread, usually of yarn,may be wound upon a shuttle I4, which is also die-cut, preferably fromthe same sheet as frame i and harness 8 and is provided with incurvingnotches is to receive the hank of yarn !6. The end of the yarn ispreferably anchored to the frame by means of a pair of tie holes H.

In operation of the loom, the harness is taken between the thumb l9, andforefinger or middle finger 20, and squeezed together until one side ofthe harness is raised and the other depressedas shown in Figure 6 wherethe harness end 2| is shown raised and the harness end 22 depressed,thus forming a shed 23 in the warp threads through which the shuttle isthen passed as shown in Figure 1.

After a single row has been woven, the positions of the thumb andforefinger are reversed, thus flexing hinges l0 and H and raisingharness end 22 and depressing harness end 2|, thus forming another shedin which. the warp threads are crossed, whereupon the shuttle is passedthrough in the opposite direction. Alternate motions of the thumb andforefinger can then continue with the passage of the shuttle at eachreversal of the shed until the weaving is finished.

At any time during the weaving, however, the harness 8 may be used as acomb. The thumb and forefinger may be placed opposite each other, thusmaking heddle surface l2 horizontal and bringing the apertures 6 intoline. Movement of the heddle toward the work will then compact it, thusdoing away with a separate comb for controlling the density of thefabric.

As will be seen from an examination of Figures 5, 6 and 7, the loomframe I, when originally strung up is preferably fiat. As the harness isoperated, however, angles 24 formed by the operation thereof effectivelyshorten the warp threads and my use of a flexible frame allows the frameto bend to form a belly 25, thus keeping the warp threads taut at alltimes. This tautness effectively prevents the shuttle from catching inthe warp threads as its passes through the shed and greatly aids in thespeed of weaving.

As I prefer to print upon the frame I a design 26, it is obvious thatwhen the design color changes other yarns 21 may be substituted for theoriginal weft material and the design created by the sequency of theyarn colors, following the design layout.

The advantages of the loom described are obvious. By placing sheetmaterial in roll or fiat form in a press, the printing and thedie-cutting may be done at the same time, and as all the parts are fromthe same original sheet, cost is reduced to a minimum.

If it is desired to make a loom of better grade material, it is obviousthat the loom can be made of diiferent materials, even from those whichare not suitable for forming hinges by scoring. In this latter case,harness parts l2, 2| and 22 are made as separate die cuttings and thehinges are formed by backing the parts with a flexible material such ascloth, for example. In any case, however, I prefer to utilize materialswhich will make the frame I of sufiicient resiliency to keep the warpthreads taut at all times.

It is of course to be understood that in case it is desirable toreenforce the harness extensions or any other parts of the harness, thatsuch reenforcement is deemed to be fully within the spirit of theinvention as exemplified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with the warp threads of a loom, a harness comprisinga fiat sheet of rigid material having offset extensions on each endthereof, alternate warp threads passing through a line of apertures insaid extensions, and a double hinge formed in said harness parallel tothe lines of said apertures to provide relative motion of saidextensions when said hinges are flexed.

2. In combination with a loom, a harness consisting of a single piece ofsheet material, offset extensions on opposite ends of said piece, saidextensions being pierced to provide warp apertures, and a score mark oneach side of the center line between said extensions whereby said piecemay be bent at said marks to have a double hinge.

WAYNE F. ROSSITER.

